Nett Impressions of the Tasting:
Having been vitally interested in syrah varietal expression for some decades now (1971), I have long wanted to present a tasting of a range of syrahs from as many countries as I could muster, if possible reflecting the best winestyles realistically achievable. This came to a head in March 2018, with a tasting at Regional Wines, Wellington. It seems that others share my enthusiasm for the variety, for the tasting sold out in 3 hours. In the event, the wines spoke well on the occasion, and tasters seemed to enjoy them a good deal.
The top six wines in the tasting. From the left: 2009 Aurora Syrah The Legacy, from 45° South in Central Otago, a fragrant near-Cote Rotie wine style, 17.5 +; 2002 Shadowfax Shiraz Pink Cliffs, an aromatic cool-climate Australian shiraz with suggestions of syrah, 17.5 +; 1999 Guigal Hermitage, as so often with Guigal reds, a good benchmark syrah, 18; 2001 Montes Syrah Folly, totally modern Chilean syrah, uncannily close to the Craggy Range wine, 18.5; 1994 Quinta da Lagoalva de Cima Syrah, the surprise of the tasting, in the style of the Guigal but both more beautiful and more varietal, 18.5; and 2004 Craggy Range Syrah Le Sol, simply benchmark syrah, wallflower florals, cassis berry, light black pepper spicing, 18.5 +.
Caveat:
In an ideal world, if we wanted to gain an impression of how syrah (shiraz) tastes when grown and vinified in different countries round the world, we would have all the wines from within roughly the same 12 months / same vintage. But that is hard to achieve ... easier in London than Wellington ... for one does not see (say) Italian or Portuguese syrahs on the shelf every day in one's local New Zealand wine-shop. Accordingly it has taken me years to assemble an intriguing / amusing cross section of wines from so many countries. So there are many vintages, from 1994 to 2009, and many price-levels too, from supermarket wines to luxury ... I had forgotten the Montes Folly cost $NZ135.
But in a sense this was never intended to be the last word on syrah varietal expression. The goal is to have a fun tasting, on the theme of: how does syrah the grape express itself in different climates and different countries ? We have 12 wines from nine different countries, but if you regard Hawkes Bay and Central Otago as different countries (from the grape's point of view) ... and likewise Victoria and West Australia, or California and Washington ... well, then we have 12 different wines from 12 different countries.
The Invitation:
This tasting should be both fun and instructive. Have syrahs from nine different countries ever been offered for comparison in New Zealand before ?
The emphasis will be more on the syrah end of the syrah / shiraz spectrum than shiraz, with several definitive labels to help illustrate the style of this fragrant and exciting grape (when not over-ripened). They can't all be from much the same vintage, some countries being scarcely (or not) represented in New Zealand, but we've got them all within a 16-years span. Perhaps the American examples are the rarest for us in New Zealand, so I have matched their years with a top New Zealand, and a Trophy-winning West Australian.
Hopefully Guigal Hermitage will serve as a kind of benchmark for syrah itself, but it is an older vintage to bridge back to the Italian and Portuguese examples. There will be back-up bottles of the Guigal and Craggy Range Le Sol, to guarantee a taste of those, plus Reserve wines, if needed.
Packaging:
Since the debut of Craggy Range's Syrah Le Sol in 2001 in New Zealand, and likewise Trinity Hill's Syrah Homage following in 2002, Jancis Robinson (and occasionally others) has protested at the weight and size of their bottles. In this tasting, thanks to the generosity of Californian wine-man Mark Blake, who made available American syrahs not available in New Zealand, suddenly all has become clear. The American syrah bottles were also amazingly heavy and large. It seems that with this sad tendency for uncritical American wine people to assume that bigger must mean better, we have the equally sad phenomenon of New World producers hoping to export their premium syrahs to America slavishly following the witless American lead. Thus not only the Craggy Range Le Sol but also the top-level Montes Folly Chilean syrah were in equally heavy bottles. When it comes to fashion, conservation and the concept of a world of shrinking resources both take a back-seat. Only the discriminating wine-person notes that Maison Guigal do not deem it necessary to package their supremely fine 'La La' / grand cru syrah bottlings (at c.$US450) in such weighty glass. Time to grow up, methinks.
Acknowledgements:
Particular thanks to Mark Blake, of Blake Family Vineyards, for making the American syrahs available from his syrah tasting programme, at the stage he hoped to establish a winery on the Gimblett Gravels. Such wines are unknown in New Zealand.
References:
www.jancisrobinson.com = Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding mainly (subscription needed)
www.robertparker.com = Robert Parker and associates (subscription needed)
www.winespectator.com = various authors (subscription needed)
THE WINES REVIEWED:
# In the admin (italicised) section of each review, the first price is the current wine-searcher value (in NZ$), where the vintage is listed. Older syrah does not seem to loom large in wine-lovers' minds, for remarkably few of our vintages are listed. The approximate original release price is given in the following text.
Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand: 14.5%; $ – [ cork, 50mm; release price $85; Sy 100% cropped @ c.6.8 t/ha = 2.75 t/ac; hand-harvested, 95% de-stemmed; fermented in open oak cuves with wild yeast; 21 months in 65% new French oak, no fining, minimal filtration; Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has not had the 2004, but Neal Martin reviewed the 2005 for them in these terms: 2005 Le Sol is simply an incredible wine, a massive nose of black plum, game and a touch of tar, the palate full-bodied with robust tannins and just like the great Northern Rhone producers, delivers a svelte, elegant finish that belies the powerful fruit that charges this wine along. If you doubt New Zealand can make world-class wines, then try this, 95; for the 2004 strictly, Wine Spectator: Streamlined and fragrant, with a medley of peppercorn, dark chocolate and black plum flavors. Fresh herb accents, toasty oak and racy tannins highlight the firm finish, which should soften with a year in bottle. To 2011, 91; bottle weight dry 971 grams; www.craggyrange.com ]
Ruby and velvet, still youthful, nearly carmine, in the middle for depth. Bouquet is reference-quality young syrah (second only to the 2013 Yann Chave Hermitage used as a study wine while writing up this tasting), combining the three essential varietal elements for the variety, when grown in an optimal climate: sweet wallflower florals, aromatic cassisy berry, and suggestions of black pepper, in a lightly aromatic bouquet of sensational purity. This smells vibrant and exciting. Flavour highlights the pure cassisy berry plus hints of black pepper, suggestions only of blueberry, oak a little noticeable, and a natural acid texture in the long finish. The only slight negative is the high alcohol. These flavours at 13.5 – 14% would add greatly to the wine’s suppleness and charm. Far too young to be good with food, yet. Clearly the top wine of the tasting for the group, nine first places, two second. Cellar 10 – 20 years. GK 03/18
Ruby and velvet, still youthful, nearly carmine, in the middle for depth. Bouquet is reference-quality young syrah (second only to the 2013 Yann Chave Hermitage used as a study wine while writing up this tasting), combining the three essential varietal elements for the variety, when grown in an optimal climate: sweet wallflower florals, aromatic cassisy berry, and suggestions of black pepper, in a lightly aromatic bouquet of sensational purity. This smells vibrant and exciting. Flavour highlights the pure cassisy berry plus hints of black pepper, suggestions only of blueberry, oak a little noticeable, and a natural acid texture in the long finish. The only slight negative is the high alcohol. These flavours at 13.5 – 14% would add greatly to the wine’s suppleness and charm. Far too young to be good with food, yet. Clearly the top wine of the tasting for the group, nine first places, two second. Cellar 10 – 20 years. GK 03/18
Ribatejo, Portugal: 13%; $ – [ cork, 44mm; release price $US20; this is the first 100% varietal syrah bottled by Lagoalva de Cima – it may be a little old now. This 7,000 ha estate has c.50ha devoted to grapes, and has produced wine since 1888. Annual production is c.22,500 cases. Syrah is not produced every year. It is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel, followed by 12 – 14 months in French oak some new. Julia Harding at Robinson has had later vintages, noting the style is more southern Rhone than Australia, and the wines are 'savoury with good Syrah character' – she has marked them to 17; bottle weight dry 737 grams; www.lagoalva.pt ]
Mature ruby, the same weight but slightly older than the 1999 Guigal Hermitage, the second lightest wine. Bouquet is extraordinarily beautiful, sweetly floral (though not the first bloom of youth), browning cassis, in one sense remarkably like mature bordeaux with cedary oak, the whole bouquet epitomising the concept ‘winey’. Palate has remarkably young-tasting fruit reflecting the bouquet exactly, beautifully varietal, markedly fresher than the Guigal, superbly subtle oak, great length with some varietal black pepper noticeable to the late palate, yet the whole wine scarcely weightier than a good Cote de Nuits pinot noir. Very beautiful mature wine at a peak of perfection, gentle alcohol, natural acid, stellar with food. Four people rated this their top or second wine in the set, and more thought it French than any other. Will hold for some years. GK 03/18
Mature ruby, the same weight but slightly older than the 1999 Guigal Hermitage, the second lightest wine. Bouquet is extraordinarily beautiful, sweetly floral (though not the first bloom of youth), browning cassis, in one sense remarkably like mature bordeaux with cedary oak, the whole bouquet epitomising the concept ‘winey’. Palate has remarkably young-tasting fruit reflecting the bouquet exactly, beautifully varietal, markedly fresher than the Guigal, superbly subtle oak, great length with some varietal black pepper noticeable to the late palate, yet the whole wine scarcely weightier than a good Cote de Nuits pinot noir. Very beautiful mature wine at a peak of perfection, gentle alcohol, natural acid, stellar with food. Four people rated this their top or second wine in the set, and more thought it French than any other. Will hold for some years. GK 03/18
Apalta Valley, Santa Cruz DoO, Chile: 14.5%; $70 [ cork, 50mm; release price $135; this wine is widely rated as Chile’s top syrah; Montes is a totally new winery, the product of four visionaries in 1987 / 88. They wanted to demonstrate what Chile could do in wine, with more modern methods. By 2005 they had become the fifth largest exporter of Chilean wine. This Syrah Folly represents an experimental wine from grapes planted higher than had ever been proposed before, in the Apalta Valley. The Finca de Apalta vineyard has slopes up to 45°, and is at c.600m asl, in a rainfall zone of c.600mm per year. Drip irrigation is employed, in a manner that stresses the vines. Folly was first made in 2000. It is all hand-picked, and yields are low at 3.5 t/ha = 1.4 t/ac. At pressing, 15% of the juice is drawn off (saignée) for use elsewhere, to concentrate the wine. It is then matured in 100% new French oak, for 18 months. Production is 600 – 700 9-litre cases; Robinson, 2002: Cask sample. This vintage is drier, with more acid, structure and potential. Dense and concentrated, it makes me want to taste it in a couple of years, 18.5 (with Montes Alpha M (once), her highest score ever for a Montes wine); Halliday, 2002: it is a very youthful wine, years away from its peak. But it is technically perfect ... a Syrah which has one foot in the Old World (Côte Rotie) and one foot in the New World, (no score given); Wine Spectator, 2003: This stunner flaunts a wall of concentrated blackberry and black currant fruit surrounding notes of cocoa, espresso and meat, but it's all buttressed by massive tannins, so cellar for maximum effect. Terrific Syrah that doesn't stray into the top-heavy blockbuster style … really impressive. Best from 2004 through 2007, 93;
bottle weight dry 955 grams; www.monteswines.com ]
Ruby and velvet, remarkably youthful for its age, uncannily close to the Le Sol, in the middle for depth. Bouquet shares clear-cut aromatic cassis berry with Le Sol, but is more aromatic, to the point of a light balsam component. There is some black pepper, and aromatic oak a little greater than the Le Sol. Palate is close to the Le Sol too, in terms of cassisy fruit quality and precise ripeness, and high alcohol, but new oak becomes more noticeable to the finish. This wine too has the good texture of natural acid. This was clearly the second favourite wine in the tasting, eight people rating it their first or second wine. It is still too youthful to impress with food. The best Chilean wine I have tasted, both on purity of fruit and quality of cooperage. Cellar 10 – 20 years. GK 03/18
bottle weight dry 955 grams; www.monteswines.com ]
Ruby and velvet, remarkably youthful for its age, uncannily close to the Le Sol, in the middle for depth. Bouquet shares clear-cut aromatic cassis berry with Le Sol, but is more aromatic, to the point of a light balsam component. There is some black pepper, and aromatic oak a little greater than the Le Sol. Palate is close to the Le Sol too, in terms of cassisy fruit quality and precise ripeness, and high alcohol, but new oak becomes more noticeable to the finish. This wine too has the good texture of natural acid. This was clearly the second favourite wine in the tasting, eight people rating it their first or second wine. It is still too youthful to impress with food. The best Chilean wine I have tasted, both on purity of fruit and quality of cooperage. Cellar 10 – 20 years. GK 03/18
Northern Rhone Valley, France: 13%; $109 [ cork, 50mm; release price $115; the first thing to say is that at that point Guigal owned no vineyards in Hermitage, and the wine is not in the top echelon from the district. It should however reflect Guigal’s mastery of the wines of the Rhone Valley; Sy 100%; average vine age 40 years; cropped at c.5.2 t/ha = 2.1 t/ac; 3 weeks cuvaison; 24 months in French oak c.60% new; Parker, 2003: a deep ruby/purple color as well as a big, masculine, virile nose of roasted meats, pepper, earth, minerals, and black fruits. Currently closed and impenetrable, it should open with another 4-5 years of cellaring, and age for 15-18 years, 90; Wine Spectator, 2002: A gentle giant … subtle and elegant Hermitage, layered with seductive aromas and flavors, from tobacco to green olive, roasted game, mineral and blackberries. Silky mouthfeel, this medium-bodied red is smooth, yet also fresh on the long finish. Will age for years. Drink now through 2015. 7,330 cases made, 93; bottle weight dry 567 grams; www.guigal.com ]
Ruby, fresher than the 1999 d'Alessandro, the lightest wine. Bouquet benefits from decanting, to show fragrant but not quite floral red grading to dark berries, suggestions of browning cassis and fading black pepper, and some oak but not obviously new. In mouth the components come together attractively, mellow ‘winey’ wine at full maturity. There is not quite the magical fruit sweetness and varietal quality of the Quinta da Lagoalva, but close. The tannins are just a little more furry, spiced by the black pepper. This is representative good French syrah rather than a dramatically fine example. It would be superb at table – later confirmed. Will hold for some years. GK 03/18
Ruby, fresher than the 1999 d'Alessandro, the lightest wine. Bouquet benefits from decanting, to show fragrant but not quite floral red grading to dark berries, suggestions of browning cassis and fading black pepper, and some oak but not obviously new. In mouth the components come together attractively, mellow ‘winey’ wine at full maturity. There is not quite the magical fruit sweetness and varietal quality of the Quinta da Lagoalva, but close. The tannins are just a little more furry, spiced by the black pepper. This is representative good French syrah rather than a dramatically fine example. It would be superb at table – later confirmed. Will hold for some years. GK 03/18
Heathcote, Victoria, Australia: 14%; $ – [ screwcap; release price $70; no specific info available, tendency to all-French oak and lowish % new; Halliday, 2005: Rich, deep structure; multi-faceted black fruits; full-bodied; ripe tannins, subtle oak influence, 94; Patrick Eckel, 2015: A spectacular wine from an unforgiving single vineyard site in Heathcote ... The nose is elegant and subtle with violets and plum fruits against savoury raspberry strap and liquorice all sorts. The palate is fully mature, but has maintained it’s mineral structure with drying, earthen tannins. in terms of fruit there are parallels with the nose, spicy plum takes centre stage, with a stalky savoury influence of site or winemaking. The finish gives the faintest flash of mint to go along with old leather, 95; bottle weight dry 705 grams; www.shadowfax.com.au ]
Ruby and velvet, just above midway in depth. This is one of those Australian shirazes which tiptoes towards syrah, but is given away by the aromatics. Here they are sweetly floral, reminiscent of Australian flowering mint Prostanthera, in the style of many vintages of Filsell. Thyme was mentioned, too. Below is fragrant fruit ripened more to the blueberry level / just beyond an ideal cassis point of ripeness. Palate is beautifully oaked, supple, not heavy, on a par with the Dos Dedos but fresher, but a little too aromatic / minty, though the acid seems nearly natural. A much more attractive food wine than the more manipulated Xabregas. Cellar 5 – 15 years. GK 03/18
Ruby and velvet, just above midway in depth. This is one of those Australian shirazes which tiptoes towards syrah, but is given away by the aromatics. Here they are sweetly floral, reminiscent of Australian flowering mint Prostanthera, in the style of many vintages of Filsell. Thyme was mentioned, too. Below is fragrant fruit ripened more to the blueberry level / just beyond an ideal cassis point of ripeness. Palate is beautifully oaked, supple, not heavy, on a par with the Dos Dedos but fresher, but a little too aromatic / minty, though the acid seems nearly natural. A much more attractive food wine than the more manipulated Xabregas. Cellar 5 – 15 years. GK 03/18
Bendigo, Central Otago, New Zealand: 13.8%; $ – [ screwcap; release price $45; The Legacy is a very small Reserve bottling, not made every year; hand-harvested from one hectare of syrah vines planted on a significant slope lying to the sun on the lower Bendigo Terraces. Fruit is thinned to one bunch per shoot. Elevation in French puncheons rather than barriques, c.25% new for 14 months; winemakers Peter Bartle and Joanne Gear: no reviews found; no wine info as such on website; bottle weight dry 726 grams; www.auroravineyard.com ]
Maturing ruby, just below midway in depth. Bouquet is light but exciting, beautifully clean, showing light but clear wallflower florals, and ripe red fruits grading to some cassis in a fresh aromatic style, but white rather than black pepper. Palate follows perfectly, a cool-year Cote Rotie styling of syrah, good fruit weight, appropriate oak and new oak, total acid just a little high. As an aside the acid is a textbook illustration of how much more attractive and winey fine-grained natural acid is, than the addition of tartaric acid as in so many Australian reds, with its spiky texture to the finish of the wine. This is a wonderful achievement from Otago, simply because at 45° South one feared a wine in the style of upland Les Collines Rhodaniennes, that is, wines which are so often much more stalky and white peppery than in Cote Rotie proper, in the valley below. This Aurora wine avoids that completely. Already good with food. Cellar 3 – 10 years. GK 03/18
Maturing ruby, just below midway in depth. Bouquet is light but exciting, beautifully clean, showing light but clear wallflower florals, and ripe red fruits grading to some cassis in a fresh aromatic style, but white rather than black pepper. Palate follows perfectly, a cool-year Cote Rotie styling of syrah, good fruit weight, appropriate oak and new oak, total acid just a little high. As an aside the acid is a textbook illustration of how much more attractive and winey fine-grained natural acid is, than the addition of tartaric acid as in so many Australian reds, with its spiky texture to the finish of the wine. This is a wonderful achievement from Otago, simply because at 45° South one feared a wine in the style of upland Les Collines Rhodaniennes, that is, wines which are so often much more stalky and white peppery than in Cote Rotie proper, in the valley below. This Aurora wine avoids that completely. Already good with food. Cellar 3 – 10 years. GK 03/18
Calatayud, Spain: 14.5%; $31 [ cork, 50mm; release price $40; Sy 93%, Vi 7, grown at 950m altitude; this wine is the brainchild of Norrel Robertson MW, known as El Escoces Volante (the flying Scotsman). The name is illustrated in the strange label, and translates to two fingers to the forehead, implying a wine made with thought. The grapes are grown at 950m altitude, hand-picked, 10 days cold soak, c. 4 weeks cuvaison including the addition of a percentage of viognier skins (7% this year), to add 'colour stability, glycerol, perfume and complexity'; 14 months in all-French oak some new in 2009 plus second and third year; usually less than 2 g/L RS; production c.300 9-L cases; a Bennett & Deller, Auckland, selection; Richard Hemming @ Robinson, 2011: little bit of meatiness, and some floral character. Quite dainty and light on the palate, captures the fragrance of the varieties well. Very charming, very valid, 16.5; Jay Miller @ Parker, 2011: Sampled blind, many tasters might guess that the 2009 Dos Dedos de Frente was produced in the northern Rhone appellation of Cote-Rotie. ... aromas of bacon, wood smoke, exotic spices, lavender, and blueberry set the stage for a velvety-textured, plush, impeccably balanced wine that will continue to gain complexity for several more years. With outstanding volume and length, this pleasure-bent offering will be at its best from 2014 to 2024 if not longer, 92; bottle weight dry 591 grams; a Stephen Bennett selection; www.escocesvolante.es/dosdedos.html ]
Ruby, some carmine and velvet, above midway in depth. Initially opened the wine is tending reductive, but responds well to simple jug aeration. It opens to dark fruits, nearly cassis but a little hotter / riper, some blueberry, some oak aromatics. The following day it had opened up a good deal, nearly floral in a dusky way. Palate is a little drab, the entrained reduction again, but fruit concentration and flavour are satisfying. Oak is at a maximum, for expressive syrah. Finish is ‘dry’ or nearly so, but perhaps there is a little acid adjustment. Syrah is a grape variety prone to reduction in elevation, so this wine points to an exciting future for syrah in Spain, rather than achieving it. It is clearly syrah, not shiraz. Too oaky and young to be good with food, yet. Cellar 10 – 20 years. GK 03/18
Ruby, some carmine and velvet, above midway in depth. Initially opened the wine is tending reductive, but responds well to simple jug aeration. It opens to dark fruits, nearly cassis but a little hotter / riper, some blueberry, some oak aromatics. The following day it had opened up a good deal, nearly floral in a dusky way. Palate is a little drab, the entrained reduction again, but fruit concentration and flavour are satisfying. Oak is at a maximum, for expressive syrah. Finish is ‘dry’ or nearly so, but perhaps there is a little acid adjustment. Syrah is a grape variety prone to reduction in elevation, so this wine points to an exciting future for syrah in Spain, rather than achieving it. It is clearly syrah, not shiraz. Too oaky and young to be good with food, yet. Cellar 10 – 20 years. GK 03/18
Mount Barker, Western Australia, Australia: 14%; $ – [ cork, 45mm; release price $32; made using Ganimede Italian fermenters which cycle the juice over the skins using the CO2 produced in fermentation. Their reputation is to produce more colour and a softer and more aromatic wine; tendency to elevation in puncheons, not barrels, a low percentage new; Halliday, 2006: Very good colour; medium to full-bodied; supple, round plum, blackberry and spice flavours; ripe tannins, positive quality oak, 94; Trophy, Best Shiraz, West Australian Wine Show, 2005; this label not made every year; bottle weight dry 585 grams; www.xabregas.com.au ]
Older ruby and velvet. Bouquet is more a typical Australian shiraz, the grapes ripened beyond optimal syrah characters to simple boysenberry shiraz, but then lifted by a minty going on euc'y aromatic quality, and quite high oak. Palate is soft and round, maybe not bone-dry, both oak and euc more apparent in now nearly jammy boysenberry flavours. Finish is roughened by added tartaric acid. For many people, this is what Australian red wine is all about, and this is a well-made example of that style. It is ageing faster than I hoped West Australian shiraz would, fully mature now, cellar 3 – 10 years. GK 03/18
Older ruby and velvet. Bouquet is more a typical Australian shiraz, the grapes ripened beyond optimal syrah characters to simple boysenberry shiraz, but then lifted by a minty going on euc'y aromatic quality, and quite high oak. Palate is soft and round, maybe not bone-dry, both oak and euc more apparent in now nearly jammy boysenberry flavours. Finish is roughened by added tartaric acid. For many people, this is what Australian red wine is all about, and this is a well-made example of that style. It is ageing faster than I hoped West Australian shiraz would, fully mature now, cellar 3 – 10 years. GK 03/18
Walla Walla Valley, Washington, USA: 14.9%; $ – [ cork, 50mm; release price $US45; described as all free-run juice, raised in one-year-old French oak for 20 months, less than 300 cases; tasting notes for other vintages imply a big wine, yet Tanzer notes for one: Shows the texture and weight of a Saint-Joseph; the winery grows its own fruit, and has been in practice since 2002; wine supplied courtesy Mark Blake, when he was establishing his Blake Family Vineyard in Hawkes Bay; bottle weight dry 943 grams; www.baselcellars.com ]
Rich ruby and velvet, nearly carmine still, the second deepest wine. Initially opened, the wine is reductive, and needed splashy jug to jug aeration. It opened up well, to reveal a huge, nearly fragrant but not floral wine ripened way past any cassis analogies, or even blueberry, to darkest bottled black plums and nearly prunes, plus some chocolate, far far too ripe for varietal accuracy. There is a slight aromatic balsam lift. Palate continues the over-ripe impression, alcohol beyond any subtlety for table wine, but saturated dark fruits and suggestions of chocolate flavours. The interesting thing is, the coarse boysenberry flavours of over-ripe Australian syrah / shiraz are not present. Oak is in good balance to the huge styling, but the whole wine is simply too big, over-ripe and burly, in international syrah terms. You wonder if a second glass would appeal at all. Nonetheless there is a certain lighter plummy impression on the finish, such that I would like to see it in 20 years or so, when it may have fined down. At the tasting proper, the wine also showed trace TCA, but at a level only two of 21 tasters detected it. It cleared completely in 24 hours. This wine was liked more by the group than me, with four second places, one first. Cellar 10 – 30 years. There may be some added acid to the nearly sweet finish. GK 03/18
Rich ruby and velvet, nearly carmine still, the second deepest wine. Initially opened, the wine is reductive, and needed splashy jug to jug aeration. It opened up well, to reveal a huge, nearly fragrant but not floral wine ripened way past any cassis analogies, or even blueberry, to darkest bottled black plums and nearly prunes, plus some chocolate, far far too ripe for varietal accuracy. There is a slight aromatic balsam lift. Palate continues the over-ripe impression, alcohol beyond any subtlety for table wine, but saturated dark fruits and suggestions of chocolate flavours. The interesting thing is, the coarse boysenberry flavours of over-ripe Australian syrah / shiraz are not present. Oak is in good balance to the huge styling, but the whole wine is simply too big, over-ripe and burly, in international syrah terms. You wonder if a second glass would appeal at all. Nonetheless there is a certain lighter plummy impression on the finish, such that I would like to see it in 20 years or so, when it may have fined down. At the tasting proper, the wine also showed trace TCA, but at a level only two of 21 tasters detected it. It cleared completely in 24 hours. This wine was liked more by the group than me, with four second places, one first. Cellar 10 – 30 years. There may be some added acid to the nearly sweet finish. GK 03/18
Cortona DOC, Tuscany, Italy: 13%; $60 [ cork, 49mm; release price $US45; planting of syrah in hillside vineyards started in 1988, the first Il Bosco wine produced in 1992; cepage Sy 90%, Sa 10, planted at 7,000 vines / ha; fermentation in oak cuves with extended cuvaison c.30 days, then elevation 12 months in barrique, not filtered; [ latterly, the ratio of small oak has been reduced ]; Robinson, 2009: Still a very dark crimson with a blackish core. Lift and a sort of 'high altitude' nose - much livelier than La Braccesca served immediately before it. Velvety rich texture with just very slight dry dustiness on the finish. Racy and really quite refined. Fills all the holes on the palate. Lovely refinement. No heat on the end. Complete. Some slightly austere finish (the Syrah tannins and dryness presumably), 18 (Robinson's highest score ever for this label); Wine Spectator, 2001: A solid Syrah. Aromas of bright fruit and spices, with hints of meat and black pepper. Medium- to full-bodied, with fine tannins and a bright, fruity aftertaste. Very tight and chewy now. Best after 2004. 5,500 cases made, 90; bottle weight dry 635 grams; www.tenimentidalessandro.it/en/bosco ]
Colour is darker but older than the 1999 Guigal, and below midway in depth. Bouquet is very fragrant, but partly because of the lifted Oxo cube suggestions and some brett, plus some oxidation too. Below is browning berry. As is often the case with such wines, in mouth the nett flavours and subtlety of the wine, with its browning cassis fruit appropriate to mature syrah, lovely low alcohol, gentle oak and natural acid finish mean this would be simply superb with (say) roast beef, roast vegetables and (genuine) gravy. Difficult wine to score, purists damning it on technical grounds, totally overlooking its great food-friendlyness and drinkability. At the tasting, a questioner asked if maybe that bottle was a lesser one, the cork ? The following night I checked a second bottle: it was conspicuously more bretty. Fully mature to fading a little, dry to the attractively lingering finish. GK 03/18
Colour is darker but older than the 1999 Guigal, and below midway in depth. Bouquet is very fragrant, but partly because of the lifted Oxo cube suggestions and some brett, plus some oxidation too. Below is browning berry. As is often the case with such wines, in mouth the nett flavours and subtlety of the wine, with its browning cassis fruit appropriate to mature syrah, lovely low alcohol, gentle oak and natural acid finish mean this would be simply superb with (say) roast beef, roast vegetables and (genuine) gravy. Difficult wine to score, purists damning it on technical grounds, totally overlooking its great food-friendlyness and drinkability. At the tasting, a questioner asked if maybe that bottle was a lesser one, the cork ? The following night I checked a second bottle: it was conspicuously more bretty. Fully mature to fading a little, dry to the attractively lingering finish. GK 03/18
Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina: 13.9%; $ – [ cork, 46mm; release price $24; no specific info available, the reds at this price point tend to have 6 months in oak; the present winery with 150 ha of vines dates from the 1930s, the proprietors having been in Argentina since the 1880s; bottle weight dry 591 grams; www.sanpolo.com.ar ]
Ruby and velvet, just below midway. Bouquet is pleasantly winey, tending hot-climate in style, quite good berryfruit but a little oxidation, not really varietal, all lifted by trace balsam aromatics. Palate reflects the bouquet, fair browning fruit, older flavours nicely balanced with older oak, not obviously acid adjusted, could as easily be over-ripe cabernet as syrah. An attractive weight with food. Mature serious beverage wine, dry. Will hold for several years. GK 03/18
Ruby and velvet, just below midway. Bouquet is pleasantly winey, tending hot-climate in style, quite good berryfruit but a little oxidation, not really varietal, all lifted by trace balsam aromatics. Palate reflects the bouquet, fair browning fruit, older flavours nicely balanced with older oak, not obviously acid adjusted, could as easily be over-ripe cabernet as syrah. An attractive weight with food. Mature serious beverage wine, dry. Will hold for several years. GK 03/18
Carneros district, Napa Valley, USA: 14.7%; $ – [ cork, 50mm; release price $US55; Lewis Cellars is a highly-regarded Napa Valley winemaker, and the Hudson Vineyard in the Carneros (ie cooler end of the Napa Valley) was formerly famous for pinot noir and chardonnay. Its owner is regarded as ‘fanatical’ in his desire to produce perfect grapes. This wine was a 100-case batch, Lewis’s first syrah from Carneros, released in Aug. 2006. At release James Laube of Wine Spectator reviewed the wine (presumably in an article, but it is now lost to the website database): Perfumed floral and lavender scents turn firm, tight and rustic on the palate, with layers of wild, exotic berry, spice, leather and pepper folding in. Rustic and chewy, the tannins are formidable yet ripe (no score given); The winery does not own vineyards, but contracts growers to produce specified fruit for them. They have been producing since 1992; wine supplied courtesy Mark Blake, when he was establishing his Blake Family Vineyard in Hawkes Bay; bottle weight dry 900 grams; www.lewiscellars.com ]
Ruby and velvet, very dense and dark, older than the Washington wine, much the deepest wine. Bouquet is simply hugely over-ripe non-varietal yet fruity wine, smelling of molasses and licorice and moist / steamed date and muscatel pudding. It is lifted by high alcohol and oak, but this is a massively hot-climate wine – from a district described by Californian wine people as ‘cool climate’. Flavour is better than bouquet, very rich fruit, some moist prune and coffee flavours with even darkest bottled plums hiding below. Nett flavours are reminiscent of black forest gateau, the blackest cherries in the world, saturated with chocolate. Oak is in good balance to the fruit, the whole lifted by high alcohol, but it is hard to imagine main course foods suited to such a thick ‘black’ winestyle. Interesting as red wine, but a long way from syrah varietal expression or quality. Bigger is not better, in international wine quality terms, for those to whom the Northern Rhone Valley is the yardstick in syrah expression. The finish is intriguing, though, not too obviously acid-adjusted, and seemingly dry. Cellar 10 – 20 years, but will it lighten up ? GK 03/18
Ruby and velvet, very dense and dark, older than the Washington wine, much the deepest wine. Bouquet is simply hugely over-ripe non-varietal yet fruity wine, smelling of molasses and licorice and moist / steamed date and muscatel pudding. It is lifted by high alcohol and oak, but this is a massively hot-climate wine – from a district described by Californian wine people as ‘cool climate’. Flavour is better than bouquet, very rich fruit, some moist prune and coffee flavours with even darkest bottled plums hiding below. Nett flavours are reminiscent of black forest gateau, the blackest cherries in the world, saturated with chocolate. Oak is in good balance to the fruit, the whole lifted by high alcohol, but it is hard to imagine main course foods suited to such a thick ‘black’ winestyle. Interesting as red wine, but a long way from syrah varietal expression or quality. Bigger is not better, in international wine quality terms, for those to whom the Northern Rhone Valley is the yardstick in syrah expression. The finish is intriguing, though, not too obviously acid-adjusted, and seemingly dry. Cellar 10 – 20 years, but will it lighten up ? GK 03/18
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